Tale of the Coaching Tape: Nick Saban vs. Barry Switzer

When Chuck Fairbanks left Oklahoma for the New England Patriots after revitalizing the program (52-15-1 from 1967-72), Oklahoma turned to the offensive coordinator who had used the wishbone to record the most prolific rushing season in college football history with 472 yards per game.

The Sooners had also scored more than 500 points in 1971, and finished second in the final Associated Press poll for the second straight year.

At the time, Switzer was just 35.

Following his promotion from coordinator, Oklahoma won or shared the Big Eight conference title every season from 1973-80, with back-to-back national championships in 1974-75, and won another in 1985.

Switzer’s teams featured some stellar players including running back Billy Sims, who won the 1978 Heisman Trophy, and Lee Roy Selmon – considered by many to be the best player in Sooners history. With one of his brothers also on the team, “God bless Mr. and Mrs. Selmon” became a popular refrain among fans.

Switzer had a career record of 157-29-4, (for a.837 winning percentage). His Sooners never finished lower than second in the league, played in nine Orange Bowls, and only once finished a season unranked.

Slideback Saturday @Barry_Switzer pic.twitter.com/YQdqPLmSVC
— Jalen Ross (@CoachJalenRoss) December 14, 2019

He is one of just two coaches to win both a collegiate national championship and the Super Bowl, the other being Jimmy Johnson. In 1996, Switzer led the Dallas Cowboys to a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX, and had a career NFL coaching record of 45–26.

However, his years at Oklahoma were filled with controversy as well, including the 1974 national championship. The Sooners were serving a two-year penalty for a recruiting scandal, and ineligible to play in a bowl game, but while the American Football Coaches Association had a rule that teams on probation were ineligible for rankings and national championship consideration, the Associated Press did not.

The Sooners finished the season undefeated, averaging 508 yards of total offense while winning by an average score of 43-8. The AP had it No. 1, but the coaches’ champion was Southern California (10-1-1).

Following numerous scandals, including various players jailed for shooting a teammate, selling cocaine to FBI officers, theft, and a gang rape, the NCAA found Oklahoma guilty of 20 violations and in December 1988 placed the program on three years probation. Switzer resigned in June 1989.

Nick Saban vs. Barry Switzer

(Statistics through 2018 season)

Category Saban; Switzer

Seasons 23 ; 16

Consensus national titles 6 ; 3

Top five finishes 9 ; 10

Top 25 finishes 16 ; 15

Overall record 232–62–1; 157-29-4

Percentage 78.5 ; 83.7

Losing seasons 0 ; ;0

CFP/Bowl record 14-10 ; 8-5

Percentage 58.3 ; 61.5

Conference titles 9 ; 12

Conference record 138-42-1; 100-11-1

Consensus All-Americans 41 ; 28

First-round draft picks 34 ; 16

Record against ranked teams 82-40 ; 43-21-4

Percentage 67.20 ; 66.18

Record against top 10 teams 42-21 ; 23-17-2

Percentage 66.67 ; 57.14

Ratios/percentages

National title seasons One every 3.8 seasons; 5.33

Consensus All-Americans 1.78 every season; 1.75

First-round draft picks 1.48 every season; 1.00

Average wins vs. ranked teams 3.57 each season; 2.69

Wins over top-10 teams per year 1.82 every season; 1.44

Some of the information in this report was also used in the book "Nick Saban vs. College Football."

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